今日、チャット ボット サービスは、さまざまな業界の多くのエンタープライズで広く展開されています。台湾をベースにビジネスを展開するインツミット株式会社が高度なチャット ボット サービス向けに提供する統合インフラストラクチャである SmartRobot は、フロントエンドとバックエンドの両方で独自の多くの機能を備え、エンタープライズの顧客とエンドユーザーの双方に多くのメリットを提供しています。自然言語処理における同社の豊富な経験とマイクロソフト テクノロジとの高い親和性をベースに、インツミットは台湾で最大の市場シェアを取得しています。このレポートでは、インツミットの CFO を務める晏毓聰 (Y.T. Yan) 氏のインタビューを紹介します。

企業概要

――　御社の概要についてお聞かせください。

Y.T　1999 年に台湾の台北市で設立されたインツミットは、インテリジェント チャット ボット サービスを始めとする独自の AI サービスを提供しています。台湾に約 90 人の従業員がおり、日本にも 6 ～ 7 人の従業員がいます。米国と欧州市場には数名の代理人を置いています。共同設立者で CEO を務める邱仁鈿 (JD Chiou) は米国のマサチューセッツ工科大学 (MIT) で博士号を取得した後に国立台湾大学 (NTU) で教鞭を取っていました。現在、邱仁鈿は Microsoft AI Developer Advisory Board (米国ワシントン州レドモンド) のメンバーも務めています。

旗艦サービスである SmartRobot は 5 年前に提供を開始しました。この 2 年間でマイクロソフトとその他のパートナーとの Co-Sell を行うことができました。SmartRobot インテリジェント ロボットは、最先端のテクノロジ上に構築されていて、インツミットは AI とナレッジ マネジメント システムのトップ ブランドとして認知されています。それを裏付けるように、Microsoft Teams Global 150+ Partner と Microsoft Top Valuable ISV (FY17) を受賞し、Gartner の「Cool Vendors in Analytics」のリーダーとして選出されました。この分野においてリーダーとして選出されたのは、台湾からは当社だけでした。

私たちの顧客プロファイルには、台湾と中国の多くの大手保険および金融企業のお客様が名前を連ねています。台湾だけを見ると、金融と銀行市場の 80% のシェアを取得しています。日本の市場も、いくつかのお客様を皮切りにシェアを広げているところです。日本のお客様のほとんどは現在、サービスを開発中ですが、さわかみ投信株式会社様が SmartRobot 上に構築した公式なチャット ボット FQA サービスを公開しています。

――　SmartRobot にはどのような特徴があるのですか。

Y.T　最大の特徴は、自然言語処理に関する当社の膨大なナレッジをベースとしていることです。インツミットは、この分野において約 20 年の実績があります。この専門知識をマイクロソフト テクノロジなどの一連の最先端テクノロジと組み合わせた SmartRobot は、自然言語を 80% 以上の精度で理解し、エンドユーザーからの質問の 70 ～ 80% を人間のオペレーターの介在なしに正しく回答しています。

SmartRobot のもう 1 つの重要な強みは、スマート スピーカー、SNS メッセンジャー アプリ、LINE チャット、WeChat などの一般的に利用可能な入力方法と組み合わせることができる点です。一方、バックエンドでは、多くのお客様は独自のナレッジ マネジメント システムをお持ちですが、これも SmartRobot に統合することが可能です。つまり、SmartRobot は、市場で入手可能な多くの入力オプション、専用の社内ナレッジ マネジメント システム、そしてインツミットのコア テクノロジで構成されるオムニチャネルの接続性を提供します。

――　SmartRobot はどのような形で提供されるのですか。

Y.T　SmartRobot では 2 つのアプローチを採用しています。1 つはオンプレミスのインストールで、規制などでクラウドへのアクセスが制限されているお客様向けに提供しています。この場合、SmartRobot はプロジェクト単位で展開しています。もう 1 つのアプローチはクラウドを介したもので、SmartRobot は既定で Microsoft Azure を介したサブスクリプション ベースで提供されます。ディープ ラーニング、セマンティック アナリシス、音声認識最適化、および自然言語処理におけるインツミットのコア テクノロジに加えて、SmartRobot はマイクロソフトから提供されているサービスおよびテクノロジ (AI テクノロジ、Microsoft Azure、Dynamics 365、Microsoft Teams、Microsoft SharePoint、および Office 365 など) で構成されています。これらのすべての最先端テクノロジを統合することによって、会話型 AI (Conversational AI) が実現します。

――　会話型 AI とはどのようなものでしょうか。

Y.T　AI の取り扱いと展開はシンプルまたは簡単とお考えのお客様もいらっしゃいますが、実際は機能する会話型 AI を構築するには一連の長いプロセスが必要になります。一般的に、SmartRobot をお客様のホーム ページ (FAQ セクション) や専用のモバイル アプリにテキスト ベースで統合することから始めます。テキスト ベースのチャット ボットが確立されると、多くのお客様は音声チャット ボットをサポートすることを検討されます。テキスト チャットから音声チャットへのシフトにおいて、音声認識エンジンと自然言語処理テクノロジが必要になるのは明らかです。ここにインツミットの強みがあります。先にお話ししたように、当社には自然言語処理において多くの実績があります。一般的なエンジンの特定のローカル データ アプリケーションにおける平均的な音声認識の精度は 60% 程度です。私たちは、それを最適化して、90 ～ 95% まで精度を高めることができます。この最適化に加えて、お客様と協力してナレッジ ベースを構築する必要があります。お客様によっては、独自のナレッジ ベースとナレッジ マネジメントを既にお持ちの場合があります。ナレッジ マネジメント システムが利用可能かどうかに関係なく、お客様は SmartRobot とシームレスに統合できる SmartKMS ナレッジ マネジメント システムのオプションを利用できます。

統合が完了すると、SmartRobot ベースのチャット ボットは、カスタマー サービスまたはホットラインの一部として 24 時間体制で提供できます。顧客からの質問への対応を介して蓄積されたデータは Microsoft Dynamics 365 に入力され、新しい CRM のセットが作成されます。この CRM はSmartRobot のトレーニング データとして使用されます。たとえば、男性の顧客がチャット ボットに「生まれたばかりの子供のために投資信託を考えている」と伝えたとします。この入力から、バックエンドの AI は、この顧客は既婚の男性でること、子供が生まれたばかりであること、投信の目的は子供の養育であり、18 ～ 20 年の長期にわたるものであることを理解します。このような分析を介して、この顧客は適切なグループに分類され、その分類に基づいて最適なオプションが提供されます。会話を重ねるごとに、応答は、この特定の顧客向けにさらにパーソナライズされます。

SmartRobot がもたらすメリット

――　SmartRobot を展開した場合の直接的なメリットはどのようなものですか。

Y.T　最もわかりやすいメリットは、チャット ボットが一般的な質問にすばやく正確に回答する一方で、カスタマー サービス担当者が顧客からの複雑な質問にフォーカスできることです。トレーニングを重ねるごとに AI の精度は向上します。ホームページの FAQ セクションに加えて、SmartRobot は、Facebook や LINE などの一般的なチャット サービスを始めとするさまざまな SNS と統合できるので、エンタープライズのお客様は、これまで以上に顧客との距離を縮めることができます。

当社のお客様を対象としたアンケート調査では、顧客からの要求の 80% が会話型 AI で満たされる一方で、人員の時間と労力の 60% が節約されていることがわかりました。効率性が 60% 向上する一方で、カスタマー サービスに要する時間とコストが最大で 50% 削減されます。

このようなメリットを実現するには、一連のマイクロソフト テクノロジが不可欠です。将来において膨大な可能性が期待されるマイクロソフトの AI テクノロジを始めとして、音声および画像認識に Cognitive Services を使用し、トレーニングに Azure Machine Learningを使用しています。プラットフォームには Microsoft Azure を使用しています。最近は、エンドユーザーが自然言語で Microsoft Outlook や SharePoint に格納されているドキュメントやメールを検索することを可能にする Microsoft Graph API を組み込みました。Microsoft Teams もエンタープライズにおいて、従業員向けのFAQ セッションで利用可能な福利厚生プログラムや有休について回答する社内人事サービス、および機能部門向けのサービスでの見積もりや企画の生成においてエントリ ポイントとしての重要な役割を担っています。

90% 以上のお客様が当社のサービスに満足しています。最初にナレッジ ベースとトレーニング データの構築において時間と労力の面での投資が必要だということがお客様に理解されれば、さまざまな面において SmartRobot の多くのメリットを実現することができます。

――　AI の分野において御社の競争面での優位性はどのようなものでしょうか。

過去 2 年において、独自の機能を持つ中国本土のベンダーが何社か市場に参入しました。競争は激しくなっていますが、当社には、実証済みの独自のコア テクノロジに加えて、マイクロソフトとチームを組んでいるという強みがあります。当社は自然言語処理において最先端の技術を有しています。現在、当社のエンジンは中国語、日本語、そして英語を高い精度の音声認識と言語処理でサポートしています。

一方、IBM Watson は強力な競合製品です。IBM Watson は優れたクラウド モデルですが、そのチャット ボット機能は比較的限定されています。IBM Watson を展開した多くのお客様は、その結果に満足していません。そのようなお客様向けに、当社は、マイクロソフトと協力してナレッジ ベース マネジメント システムなどのデータを SmartRobot に移行する移行プランを提供しています。

――　将来のビジョンを教えてください。

Y.T　スマート シティ サービスの可能性に注目しています。SmartRobot はソフトバンクのペッパーのような人型ロボットにも統合することができます。当社のお客様の中にも、SmartRobot を搭載したペッパーを受付として利用しているケースが見られます。この場合、当社の自然言語処理テクノロジを使用した会話型 AI 機能を活用するペッパーは、来客に挨拶して適切な対応をすることができます。

また、AR ベースのサービスも提供しています。たとえば、台湾桃園国際空港で展開しているサービスでは、旅行客はスマート フォンを使用してコンテキストに即した画面上の対話型ガイドを利用できます。このサービスでは、施設内の地図や運航状況の確認だけでなく翻訳まで行うことができます。

もう 1 つ注目しているのが Office 365 で、Office 365 を販売するパートナーとの Co-Sell ケースも増えています。SmartRobot はヘルプ システムの一部として組み込まれ、エンドユーザーから寄せられる Office 365 に関連するさまざまな質問に回答します。コンテキストは Office 365 の使用に関するものに限定されるので、正確なナレッジ ベースを構築できます。一度確立したナレッジ ベースは、他のエンタープライズのお客様向けに再使用と最適化が可能です。

このようなビジョンを基に日本の市場を開拓しています。現在、パートナーとのジョイント ベンチャーを立ち上げています。また、日本における SmartRobot の独占ライセンスを持つ代理店もあります。既に何社かのお客様で開発作業を行っていて、日本市場における多くの可能性を視野に入れています。米国とヨーロッパの市場では、グローバルな展開を目的としたパートナー企業を探しています。この市場には大きな可能性があると考えています。

――　マイクロソフト パートナーへのメッセージをお願いします。

Y.T　成功するために必要なのは情熱とテクノロジと言われることがありますが、コミットメントという要素も必要と思います。スキルがどれほど高くても、どれほどの情熱を持っていても、目標を実現するには目標に対するコミットメントが必要です。高いスキルを持った従業員が問題に直面した途端に別の会社に移るというケースを見たことがあります。それも 1 つの方法かもしれませんが、本当の目標に到達することはできません。

インツミットは AI の分野においてリーダーとして認識されています。また、マイクロソフトとその他のパートナーとの Co-Sell も多く手掛けています。インツミットのサービスは Microsoft Azure およびマイクロソフトの AI テクノロジの堅牢なアーキテクチャを介して提供されています。私たちは単体ではなく、マイクロソフトとチームを組んでいます。マイクロソフトとのコラボレーションにおける最大のメリットは、マイクロソフトとそのテクノロジとともに成長できることです。マイクロソフトの AI テクノロジに秘められている可能性は実施的に無限大で、そのメリットは計り知れません。マイクロソフトとのチームの一方で、私たちはMPN のさまざまなパートナーとのあらゆるコラボレーションに対してオープンな姿勢を持っています。ご興味がある場合は、お気軽にご連絡ください。

Intumit, Inc.

邱仁鈿 (JD Chiou) 氏により 1999 年に設立されたインツミット株式会社は、旗艦製品の SmartRobot とバックエンドのナレッジ マネジメント システム SmartKMS を始めとする一連の会話型 AI 製品およびサービスを提供しています。高度な自然言語処理を基盤とする同社の製品およびサービスは、台湾と中国の多くのエンタープライズ顧客で採用されています。さまざまなマイクロソフト テクノロジに加え、ナレッジ マネジメント システムとディープ ラーニングおよび AI ソリューションと組み合わせた SmartRobot は、会話型 AI チャット ボット サービスを提供してヘルプ デスクのワークフローを効率化し、ヘルプ デスク担当者の時間と労力を節約しています。

Providing a flexible and customizable chat bot platform: Features and integration of Intumit’s SmartRobot

The chat bot services are now widely deployed at enterprises in different industries. SmartRobot, an integrated infrastructure offered by Intumit for advanced chat bot services, presents a set of unique features, both on the front-end and back-end as well as for the enterprise customers and the end-users. Based on their extensive experience in natural language processing and close affinity with Microsoft technologies, Intumit has been successful to gain the largest market share in Taiwan. This report delivers an interview with Y.T. Yan, CFO at Intumit.

Company Overview

――　Can you please tell us about your company overview?

Y.T　Intumit was established in 1999 in Taipei, Taiwan, offering a unique set of AI services, including intelligent chat bot services. We have approx. 90 employees in Taiwan, 6-7 workers in Japan, and some representatives in the US/Europe market. The co-founder and CEO, JD Chiou obtained his Ph.D. from MIT (Massachusetts Institution of Technology) and used to teach at NTU (National Taiwan University). Currently, he also serves as a member of Microsoft AI Developer Advisory Board (Redmond, WA).

Intumit started offering SmartRobot, our flagship service, five years ago. In the past two years, we achieved a significant number of co-sells with Microsoft and other partners. We develop SmartRobot intelligent robot built on the cutting-edge technologies five years ago, and we are now recognized as the top brand for AI and the knowledge management system. As a part of this recognition, we received Microsoft Teams Global 150+ Partner and Microsoft Top Valuable ISV, FY17, as well as an elected title by Gartner as Cool Vendors in Analytics. We were the only company from Taiwan that were elected in this field.

Our customer portfolio includes major insurance and financial companies in Taiwan and the great China area. In Taiwan in particular, we have 80% of the market share in the financial and banking sectors. We have just started gaining the market share in Japan with several customers. While most of them are in development phase, Sawakami Asset Management Inc. has recently launched their official chat bot FAQ service built on top of our SmartRobot.

――　What are the unique features of SmartRobot?

Y.T　One of the biggest features is that it is based on our advanced knowledge of natural language processing. We have approx. 20 years of experiences in this field. Combining this expertise with a series of cutting-edge technologies, including Microsoft technologies, SmartRobot is successful in achieving 70-80% coverage of questions from end-users resolved without human operator’s intervention, through 80% or higher accuracy in natural language understanding..

The other important strength of SmartRobot is that it can integrate with commercially available input methods, including variety of smart speakers, SNS messenger apps, LINE chat, and WeChat, just name a few. On the back-end, on the other hand, the customers usually have their own knowledge management system which can be integrated with SmartRobot. In other words, SmartRobot offers omni-channel connectivity for the customers: a wide variety of commercially available input options , the dedicated in-house knowledge management system, and our core technology in natural language processing in between.

――　How is SmartRobot service offered?

Y.T　SmartRobot has two approaches. One is on-premise installation for the clients with limited cloud access due to, for example, some regulations. In this case, we deploy SmartRobot on a project basis. The other is the cloud approach, in which SmartRobot is offered on a subscription basis through Microsoft Azure by default. In addition to our core technologies in deep learning, semantic analysis, speech recognition optimization and natural language processing, SmartRobot consists of integral services and technologies by Microsoft, including Microsoft AI technologies, Microsoft Azure, Dynamics 365, Microsoft Teams, SharePoint, and Office 365. With all of these cutting-edge technologies integrated, Conversational AI is enabled.

――　Can you tell us about Conversational AI?

Y.T　Although some customers tend to think the AI is just simple or easy to handle and deploy, it actually requires a series of long process to build functional AI, or Conversational AI. Usually, we start with integrating SmartRobot to the customer’s home page (FAQ section) or some dedicated mobile apps on a text basis. After establishing a successful text chat bot, many customers want to move on to support voice chat bot. In this transition from text chat to voice chat, it is apparent that we need a voice recognition engine and natural language processing technology. Our strength lies here because, as I mentioned earlier, we have good experiences in natural language processing. The average accuracy among commercially available voice recognition engines are about 60% in specific local data application. We can optimize them and improve the accuracy up to 90-95%. In addition to this optimization, we need to build a knowledge base with the customer. Some customers already have their own knowledge bases and knowledge management systems. Regardless if the knowledge management system is available, we offer the customer an option of SmartKMS knowledge management system, which can seamlessly integrates to SmartRobot.

Once integrated, SmartRobot-based chat bot can serve as a part of customer service or Hotline, accessible 24x7. The data accumulated through responding to the customer questions is input to Microsoft Dynamics 365 to create a new set of CRMs, which is then used as a set of training data for SmartRobot. Suppose an end-customer says to the chat bot --- for example --- “My wife and I want to buy some mutual funds for our new born baby.” From this input, the AI on the back-end knows that this end-customer is a married male, just had a baby, and the purpose is for child education which will be a long-term like 18-20 years. Through such an analysis, this customer is categorized into an appropriate group and will be offered best options possible based on this classification. Through the additional conversation, the responses can be further personalized for that particular end-customer.

Benefits offered by SmartRobot

――　What is the direct benefit to deploy SmartRobot

Y.T　The most apparent benefit is that human customer service agents can focus on more complicated inquiries from the end-customers while the chat bot serves to answer general and common questions more quickly and accurately. The more trained, the more the AI can improve its accuracy. As SmartRobot can integrate to various SNS including Facebook, Line, and other popular chat services, in addition to the FAQ section in a home page, the enterprise can bring their customer far closer than before.

Our customer survey suggests that 80% of the request from the end-client completes through Conversational AI while 60% of the time and effort of the human agents are saved. In terms of efficiency, they achieve 60% of improvement while the service time and cost decrease up to 50%.

A set of Microsoft technologies contributes to such achievements. Starting from Microsoft AI technologies, which has a vast potential for further improvement, we use Cognitive Services for voice and image recognition, Azure Machine Learning for training and Microsoft Azure as the platform. Recently, we’ve incorporated Microsoft Graph API which enable the end-user to search documents and mails in Outlook and SharePoint using the natural language. Microsoft Teams also serves an important role as the entry point in the enterprise in-house HR help desk service, providing accurate FQA sessions to employees, answering the available welfare, paid-holidays as well as quoting and proposal generations for the functional divisions.

More than 90% of the customers say they are satisfied with our service. Once they understand that AI requires some investment, in terms of time and effort, in the beginning to establish a knowledge base and training data, SmartRobot start offering great benefit in various aspects.

――　What is your competitive advantage in the field of AI

In the past two years, several vendors from mainland China have entered the market with unique features. Although the competition is getting harder, our advantages are that we team up with Microsoft and that we have solid core technology. We are far ahead in natural language processing. Currently, we support Chinese, Japanese, and English with high accuracy in voice recognition and language processing.

On the other hand, IBM Watson is a major competitor. Although is a good cloud model, its chat bot ability is rather limited. Many customers who deployed IBM Watson are not satisfied with the results. For these customers, we offer a migration plan to migrate the data, including the knowledge base management system, to our SmartRobot through a collaboration with Microsoft.

――　What is your vision for the future?

Y.T　We’ve started looking into an opportunity in Smart City services. SmartRobot can also be integrated with humanoid robots such as Softbank’s Pepper. Some of our customers have Peppers equipped with SmartRobot at their reception desks. They can greet and guide the visitors through Conversational AI functionality using our natural language processing technology.

In addition, we offer AR-based services. For example, in Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, the travelers can use their smart phones to get a contextual and interactive guide on the screen. This service guides the travelers from the map service, flight information, to translation.

Office 365 is another opportunity we are now focusing on. We have some co-sell cases with partners who sell Office 365. SmartRobot was included as a part of the help system, which answers variety of Office 365-related questions from the end-users. As the context is rather limited to the use of Office 365, we can build a good knowledge base. Once the knowledge base is established, we can reuse and optimize it for other enterprise customers.

With these visions, we will expand the market in Japan. Currently, we have a joint-venture with our partner, and a distributor who has an exclusive license of SmartRobot in Japan. We already have prospect customers under development, and we see that more opportunities in Japan. For the US and European market, we are currently looking for partner companies for global roll out. We consider we have a good potential for that market.

――　Message to Microsoft Partners

Y.T　It is often said, to be a successful company, all we need is passion and technology. I would like to add another element: commitment. How advanced our skill may be, and how much passion we may have, we must commit to our goals to reach the goal. I often see skilled employees just gave up when they encountered some problems and moved to other company for other opportunities. This may be a way, but it would not bring us to the goals we really want.

Intumit is now recognized as the leader in the competition in the field of AI, and we have lot of co-sell experiences with Microsoft and other partners. Our service is offered through the robust architecture of Microsoft Azure and Microsoft AI technologies. We are not alone because we team up with Microsoft. The biggest advantage is that we can grow with Microsoft and its technologies. The potential in Microsoft AI technology is virtually limitless and we see a great opportunity in it. As we are not along, we are open for any kinds of collaboration with different partners in MPN. Please feel free to contact us.

Intumit, Inc.

Established in 1999 by JD Chiou, Intumit offers Conversational AI offerings, including their flagship product SmartRobot and the back-end knowledge management system SmartKMS. Based on the advanced natural language processing, the company’s offerings are employed by a great number of enterprise customers In Taiwan and the greater China area. Combining a knowledge management system with deep learning and AI solutions in addition to a series of integral Microsoft technologies, SmartRobot facilitates the help desk workflow by introducing Conversational AI chat bot service while saving time and effort of live help desk representatives.

Por: Equipo de Microsoft Educación.

Cuando los estudiantes se involucran en las ciencias de la computación, no sólo aprenden a codificar para convertirse en futuros ingenieros de software. También desarrollan su creatividad, pensamiento crítico y sus habilidades de resolución de problemas que los prepararán para progresar en la fuerza laboral del futuro, donde 77 por ciento de los trabajos en la década siguiente requerirán habilidades tecnológicas.

Microsoft se asoció con YouGov para encuestar a profesores K-12 en Estados Unidos y encontró que 83 por ciento de los profesores creen que la codificación puede construir la creatividad de los estudiantes. ¡La Semana de Educación en Ciencias de la Computación es el momento perfecto para reunir al aprendizaje digital con la creatividad, para avivar la pasión de sus estudiantes por crear e innovar con tecnología!

Cuando se les preguntó, 80 por ciento de los profesores dijo que creen que las grandes compañías tecnológicas, como Microsoft, Google y Apple, deberían ayudar a construir habilidades en ciencias de la computación y 75 por ciento de los profesores comentó que el gobierno no hace lo suficiente para equipar las escuelas de manera que permitan construir esas habilidades.

Es por eso que estamos emocionados por el progreso realizado en los años recientes, desde el programa TEALS, que lleva las ciencias de la computación a las escuelas secundarias a través de Estados Unidos y Canadá, a Minecraft: Education Edition’s Code Builder y los tutoriales de Hour of Code. ¡Estudiantes en más de 180 países han aprendido los fundamentos de la codificación con tutoriales gratuitos de Minecraft Hour of Code y han registrado más de 100 millones de sesiones en los últimos 4 años!

Microsoft también ha asignado 10 millones de dólares para ayudar a Code.org en su labor de apoyar las políticas de educación en ciencias de la computación, para que cada estado de pasos para incrementar el acceso a las ciencias de la computación a sus estudiantes y asegurar que cada escuela brinde a sus profesores desarrollo profesional en ciencias de la computación.

¡Para continuar con este gran impulso, los invitamos a unirse al movimiento de llevar las ciencias de la computación a todas las personas! Aunque nuestra encuesta encontró que 88 por ciento de los profesores están de acuerdo en que las ciencias de la computación son críticas para asegurar el éxito futuro de sus estudiantes en el lugar de trabajo, cuando se les preguntó, 30 por ciento de los profesores comentó que no se sienten calificados cuando se trata de preparar a sus estudiantes para un futuro más digital. No hay mejor momento para introducir a sus estudiantes en las ciencias de la computación que durante la Semana de Educación en Ciencias de la Computación. Es fácil comenzar y ustedes pueden participar sin necesidad de tener conocimiento en ciencias de la computación con recursos en línea gratuitos y sencillos de utilizar.

¡Comencemos!

• ¿Son nuevos en la educación de Ciencias de la Computación? Vean nuestros nuevos Cursos de Microsoft Educator Community gratuitos. Visiten Hour of Code Facilitator Training para recibir el entrenamiento que necesitan para llevar la hora del código con Minecraft a sus estudiantes y obtener una insignia.
• Presenten a sus estudiantes con profesionales del mundo real que utilizan las Ciencias de la Computación. ¡En asociación con Code.org, Skype in the Classroom organiza transmisiones en el aula gratuitas de 30 minutos y sesiones de Preguntas y Respuestas en vivo toda la semana con profesionales que utilizan código para crear cosas increíbles como construir IA para ayudar a especies en peligro, diseñar mundos en Minecraft y utilizar código para crear la más reciente película de Pixar! Acompáñenos para mostrar a sus estudiantes lo divertidas y emocionantes que pueden ser las carreras que involucran a las ciencias de la computación.
• Aprendan a codificar con Minecraft: Education Edition. Descarguen la más reciente actualización para Minecraft: Education Edition para utilizar Code Builder, una característica dentro del juego que permite a los estudiantes correr comandos de código con Microsoft MakeCode y Tynker. Planes de estudio alineados con estándares, lecciones y entrenamientos para comenzar están disponibles para educadores de todos niveles.
• ¡Y por supuesto, siempre pueden organizar una Hora del Código! Aprendan cómo realizar Minecraft Hour of Code en su escuela con tutoriales gratuitos en línea, entrenamientos para educadores y guías de discusión. El nuevo tutorial Minecraft Hour of Code de una hora, Voyage Aquatic, lleva a los estudiantes a una aventura submarina para encontrar tesoros y resolver acertijos con código. Visiten code.org/minecraft para comenzar.

Para más información sobre los muchos programas que Microsoft apoya para ayudarles a construir las habilidades digitales de sus estudiantes, visiten nuestra página de la Semana de Educación en Ciencias de la Computación.

Machine Learning Services | Azure Machine Learning service is now available

Azure Machine Learning service, which enables developers and data scientists to quickly and easily build, train, and deploy machine learning models, is now generally available.

Use Azure Machine Learning service to:

• Build models faster with automated machine learning.
• Train models with auto-configured cloud compute from any Python environment, using your favorite open source frameworks.
• Manage end-to-end workflows with DevOps for machine learning and simple deployment to the cloud and the edge.

General availability pricing will be in effect on February 1, 2019.

To learn more about Azure Machine Learning service, read the Azure blog.

For more information on features and pricing, visit the Azure Machine Learning service product page and pricing page.

Cognitive Services | Language Understanding container support is in preview

Container support for Language Understanding is now available in preview. Use this capability to deploy language understanding solutions to the edge, on-premises and in the cloud. Cognitive Services support for containers enables you to run AI on the edge and build consistent app architectures across the cloud and the edge.

Run AI on the edge
Deploy Cognitive Services in containers, to analyze information close to the physical world where the data resides, and to deliver real-time insights and immersive experiences that are highly responsive and contextually aware.

Build consistent app architectures across the cloud and edge
Cognitive Services containers enable you to build one application architecture optimized to take advantage of both robust cloud capabilities and edge locality. With containers, you can upgrade to new versions of AI models deployed in your solutions at your own pace. Test new model versions before deploying them in production in a consistent way, whether running on the edge or in the cloud.

Please refer to our documentation for additional details.

Cognitive Services | Text Translator custom translation capability is now available

Custom translation capability in Translator Text Cognitive Service is now generally available. Use custom translation capability with human-translated content to build a translation custom system that can better handle specific writing styles, industry expressions, and vocabulary.

General availability (GA) pricing will go into effect on February 1, 2019. The GA price for custom translation is four times the cost of standard translation. Please refer to the pricing page for more information.

Machine Learning Studio | Open source ONNX Runtime

We are now open sourcing ONNX Runtime, a high-performance inference engine for machine learning models in the Open Neural Network Exchange (ONNX) format. ONNX Runtime is compatible with ONNX version 1.2 and comes in Python packages that support both CPU and GPU inferencing. With the release of the open source ONNX Runtime project, you have the freedom to customize and integrate the ONNX inference engine into your existing infrastructure directly from the source code, as well as compile and build it on a variety of operating systems.

To learn more about ONNX Runtime, read the Azure Blog.

.NET Core | New .NET Core release is now available

A new release of .NET Core is now available. This release includes further improvements in performance by enabling tiered compilation by default, as well as new features in the ASP.NET Core web stack like hosting model improvements for IIS, Web API improvements including API security, template updates for Bootstrap 4 and Angular 6, and HealthCheck improvements. Additionally, we’ve made improvements in our data stack and Entity Framework Core, including support for spatial extensions for SQL Server and SQLite.

For more information see our posts on the .NET Team blog.

Download the new .NET Core release.

Time Series Insights | Long-term storage and tags is now in preview

Key updates have been made to Time Series Insights that will empower you to maximize the value of your IoT data. Store decades worth of device data in a cost-effective way, add rich contextualization through time series models and metadata, query this data to get rich asset-based insights as well as interactive ad-hoc analytics, visualize data in an intuitive and powerful user experience, and connect to advanced analytics solutions as needed. The Time Series Insights platform capabilities will allow you to effectively consolidate your data to empower operators, data scientists, and business intelligence teams. In addition, the newly released pay-as-you-go pricing model offers the pricing scalability that enables you to truly harness the value of IoT scenarios.

Time Series Insights is now better suited to address core needs and provides a platform capable of bringing down data silos and accelerating the development of enterprise-grade IoT solutions.

To learn more, read the full blog post and visit Time Series Insights.

Azure DevOps Server | Azure DevOps Server 2019(RC1)

The first release candidate (RC) of Azure DevOps Server 2019, previously known as Team Foundation Server, is now available.

Dozens of new features and bug fixes across all major product areas have been implemented, including making available the new fast, clean, and customizable navigation, and other user experience improvements across many pages. In addition, a more flexible self-hosted server setup is now available, as Azure DevOps Server 2019 now supports using Azure SQL database as an option for a hybrid-cloud setup.

For more information, read our blog post and review the detailed release notes.

Visual Studio 2019 | Visual Studio 2019 Preview 1

The initial preview of Visual Studio 2019 is now available. This offers numerous productivity improvements, enhanced collaboration, and faster tooling. It enables the best experience for individual developers and teams to improve their existing projects, as well as build the next generation of modern cloud solutions.

In this release, a new start window experience has been added to get you into your code faster and easier than ever. Other additions include increased coding space, a new search experience, and productivity improvements like context-aware, AI-powered assistance with IntelliCode, more refactoring capabilities, and smarter debugging. It’s now easier than ever to collaborate across teams with access to Visual Studio Live Share installed by default.

Download Visual Studio 2019 Preview 1 online or learn more in the Visual Studio 2019 blog.

Visual Studio for Mac | Visual Studio 2019 for Mac Preview 1

Visual Studio 2019 for Mac Preview 1 will enable you to quickly create new projects or navigate to your existing code with the new welcome screen experiences that replace the start page. This preview release can be installed side-by-side with the released version of Visual Studio 2017 for Mac version 7.7, so you can try new experiences that were described in our roadmap and as they become available in upcoming preview releases.

Learn more in the Visual Studio 2019 blog.

Visual Studio Tools for Xamarin | Tools for Xamarin Forms update is now available

A new update to Xamarin.Forms is now available. This update continues to make the common cross-platform developer scenarios much easier by improving existing controls to address key scenarios for developers and reduce the need to write platform code. Adding to that, Xamarin.Forms templates now all include the Essentials library, which provides a simple cross-platform way of accomplishing platform-specific tasks such as checking device connectivity or using local device storage.

This update to Xamarin.Forms delivers accessibility improvements for screen readers and introduces tab index and focus support for both touch device usage and keyboards making it even easier develop accessible mobile applications.

Visual Studio Tools for Xamarin | Tools for Xamarin Forms update is in preview

A new update to Xamarin.Forms is now available in preview. This update introduces a new era of productivity and performance for cross-platform mobile developers making it easier to access all the native APIs needed, and to quickly describe your entire application and style it for consistent UI across devices.

The new Xamarin.Forms Shell provides a simple, prescriptive way to describe the structure of the application, and immediately see full feature navigation. Shell delivers modern design patterns for navigation, control styling, animations, and transitions out of the box.

This update to Xamarin.Forms also introduces the next generation of performance improvements. The Shell container is architected for performance minimizing GPU overdraw and unnecessary re-rendering. A new CollectionView control displaces the ListView by not only being faster and more efficient, but by introducing new layout options for vertical, horizontal, grids, flex layout, and custom layouts. Based on the CollectionView, Xamarin.Forms now has a modern CarouselView built to deliver the most beautiful carousel designs commonly shipping in mobile experiences.

All Xamarin.Forms applications start with the new Essentials library by default so you have immediate access to the most commonly used platform APIs such as connectivity and local storage from a simple and easy to use cross-platform abstraction.

Xamarin.Forms continues to deliver the best platform-specific design for native controls, and now makes it easier than ever to achieve a common UI for your applications across iOS and Android. Starting with Material Design, you can specify a material visual preference and all controls, Adopt native control renderers that implement a desired visual style and behavior on every platform, saving you countless hours of effort unifying the iOS and Android control styles.

Functions | Consumption plan for Linux in preview

Azure Functions now support Linux serverless hosting on a consumption plan. Previously, deploying to Linux was only supported while running on an App Service plan. This latest enhancement makes it possible to deploy Functions targeting the Linux OS using the pay-per-execution model. Developers who work on Mac and Linux platforms can transition seamlessly to Linux hosting in the cloud to avoid hosting platform specific translation. Hosting on Linux also means that libraries available only on Linux can now be used from your function code.

Learn more.

Functions | JavaScript support for Durable Functions is now available

Orchestrate your serverless workflows programmatically using the Durable Functions extension to the Azure Functions runtime, which will support JavaScript in GA to be used for production workloads. With Durable Functions, developers can simplify complex, stateful coordination problems in serverless applications, defining the workflows in code instead of using JSON schemas or any visual designer. With this release, new scenarios are enabled for Node.js and JavaScript developers following some development patterns (such as functions chaining, fan-out/fan-in, or human interaction).

Learn more.

Functions | Python support is in preview

Azure Functions now supports Python in preview. Develop using Python 3.6 and publish your code and dependencies to Azure, using either the serverless (consumption) or the app service (dedicated) plan. The open source Functions runtime enables you to debug and test locally, as well as publish to Azure using the Functions CLI and Visual Studio Code. Python is a natural fit for data preparation, machine learning, and automation. Building these scenarios with a serverless architecture can take away the burden of managing the underlying infrastructure, so developers are empowered to move fast and focus on the business logic of their application.

Learn more.

Azure DevOps Projects | Azure Boards GitHub commits and pull requests are in preview

At Connect(); 2018, a new preview feature that enables Azure Boards work item integration with GitHub commits and pull requests for closed-source projects will be made available.

To get started using this capability, link your GitHub repo with an Azure Boards project via OAuth integration settings. Once connected, any GitHub commit message or pull request title/description will now be able to mention Azure Boards work items using "AB#ID" syntax that will link them.

Example: "Fixes AB#20" would link Azure Boards work item #20 to the GitHub commit/pull request.
This capability enables a flexible workflow for tracking work and lets you easily navigate among all the information that helps you plan even the most complex project.

For more information read our blog post.

Azure DevOps Projects | Azure IoT Edge support is in preview

At Connect(); 2018, a new preview feature for Azure DevOps Projects will be announced that expands support to IoT applications.

Going forward, use Azure DevOps Projects to easily setup a CI/CD pipeline that can deploy IoT applications to an Azure IoT Edge device. We support multiple languages such as .NET and Python for these IoT Edge modules.

For more information read our blog post.

Visual Studio Code | Azure Pipelines Visual Studio Code extension is in preview

At Connect(); 2018, a new Azure Pipelines extension for Visual Studio Code will be made available. In this first preview release, syntax highlighting and IntelliSense (autocomplete) support for YAML-based pipelines will be available, shortening the developer inner loop by validating that the file is structured correctly and uses valid keywords. In addition, it also supports built-in tasks and can validate their required input.

The extension is an open source project on GitHub, and we welcome feedback, bug reports, and contributions from the community.

For more information read our blog post.

Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) | AKS virtual node is in preview

Powered by the open source Virtual Kubelet technology, Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) virtual node allows you to elastically provision additional pods inside Container Instances that start in seconds. With a few clicks in the Azure portal, you can turn on the virtual node feature and get the flexibility and portability of a container-focused experience in your AKS environment without worrying about managing the additional compute resources. And since your Azure Container Instances containers can join the same virtual network as the rest of your cluster, you can build Kubernetes services that seamlessly span pods running on Virtual Machines and Azure Container Instances.

For more information, visit the Connect() AKS blog.

API Management | Consumption tier is now in preview

API Management is now available in a new consumption-based usage plan called consumption tier (in preview). Unlike the current dedicated usage model with pre-allocated and isolated underlying resources, API Management consumption tier allows API Management to be used in a serverless fashion, with instant provisioning, automated scaling, built in high availabilitym and pay-per-action pricing.

The addition of a Consumption Tier option to the API Management offering enables you to more easily participate in the API economy and take advantage of the rich set of API Management capabilities. Optimize your investments by minimizing your initial and ongoing investment, and scale up easily as demand for your API grows. The API Management consumption tier option allows you to take full advantage of Functions and other serverless technologies in a truly serverless manner, so you only pay for what you use across the board.

See more information about the new APIM Consumption Tier.

API Management | More flexible subscriptions in API Management are now in preview

API Management consumption tier users can now create subscriptions at different levels, and subscriptions are no longer required to be associated with a developer account.

Unlike the current API Management approach which requires subscriptions to be associated with a developer account, the flexible subscription feature allows subscriptions without requiring association with a developer. This simplifies subscription management and avoids interruptions in scenarios such as when a developer moves to a different team or company, or when a subscription is shared by multiple developers and teams. Additionally, this feature allows you to better control access by specifying subscription scope to either All APIs or a subset of APIs.

This preview feature is initially available in API Management consumption tier and will be expanded to other API Management tiers by the end of January 2019.

Learn more about flexible subscription offering in preview.

Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) | Disclosure—Cloud Native Application Bundle (CNAB) for distributed systems

Together with Docker, we’re announcing Cloud Native Application Bundle (CNAB), an open source, cloud-agnostic specification for packaging and running distributed applications. CNAB is designed to work with everything from Azure to on-premises OpenStack, from Kubernetes to Swarm, and from Ansible to Terraform. It can execute on a workstation, a public cloud, an air-gapped network, or a constrained IoT environment. And it’s flexible enough to accommodate an array of platform needs, from customer-facing marketplaces to internal build pipelines.

Database for MySQL and PostgreSQL | Azure Database for MariaDB is now available

The Azure Database for MariaDB service offers enterprise-ready, fully managed community MariaDB featuring open-source compatibility, built-in high availability, and dynamic scaling, as well as flexible pricing. The MariaDB community edition allows you to lift and shift to the cloud using the languages and frameworks of your choice. Create MariaDB servers in Azure using familiar tools, languages, and frameworks based on the basic, general purpose, or memory optimized pricing tiers that can scale compute and storage resources to fit your workload needs.

Learn more.

Azure Database for MySQL and PostgreSQL | Virtual network for Azure Database for MariaDB is in preview

Now in preview, virtual network service endpoints for Azure Database for MariaDB are accessible in all available regions. Virtual network service endpoints allow you to isolate connectivity to your logical server from only a given subnet or set of subnets within your virtual network. Traffic to Azure Database for MariaDB from the virtual network service endpoints stays within the Azure network, preferring this direct route over any specific routes that take internet traffic through virtual appliances or on-premises.

Learn more.

Stream Analytics | Azure Stream Analytics on IoT Edge is now generally available

Azure Stream Analytics on IoT Edge is now generally available. This new feature extends the benefits of our unique streaming technology from the cloud to the device level. Azure Stream Analytics on IoT Edge provides a simple way to analyze data in real-time, while using the same familiar programming languages and unified cloud management portal. Azure Stream Analytics on IoT Edge can be used for free until February 1, 2019; the new pricing model will be applicable after February 1, 2019. Custom pricing is available for large scale deployments (more than 5,000 devices).

To learn more about this service, please visit the Azure Stream Analytics webpage and check out our announcement blog.

Azure Maps | Now available

A new pricing tier has been added for Azure Maps. This is shown on our pricing page as the “S1” offering. This tier will complement our existing pricing tier and will offer a higher throttling threshold to support high-volume, enterprise-scale or mission-critical applications. Customers who are currently using the S0 tier and wish to upgrade can do so with the instructions included in our documentation.

For more information, please see our pricing page.

API Management | Bring your own cache is in preview

The bring your own cache feature allows you to use external Redis-compatible cache with API Management in the consumption tier. Bringing your own cache allows you to achieve better performance within API Management in a serverless environment because caching isn’t available in API Management consumption tier out of the box.

This preview feature is initially available in API Management Consumption Tier and will be expanded to other API Management tiers by the end of January 2019.

Learn more.

Container Instances | GPU support in Azure Container Instances is in preview

Azure Container Instances allows you to easily run containers on Azure without managing servers. Choose the VM types that you want to run your containers in. Azure Container Instances now supports GPU enabled containers, enabling you to run the intensive jobs required for machine learning.
For more information, visit the Connect() AKS blog.

Functions | Serverless Community Library is in preview

The Azure Serverless Community Library (in preview) is an open-source set of prebuilt components based on common use cases using Functions and Logic Apps. These components are already built and ready to deploy on the desired Azure subscription, so you can plug-and-play and use those prebuilt components out of the box, saving coding time and increasing productivity. Check out the more than 40 available components at the Serverless Library, and contribute with your own components in its GitHub repository.

IoT solution accelerators | Remote monitoring updates

Azure IoT solution accelerators helps you create fully customizable solutions for common Internet of Things (IoT) scenarios. With several updates to the Azure IoT Remote Monitoring solution accelerator, you’re now empowered to manage more facets of your IoT solutions. These updates to the Azure IoT Remote Monitoring solution accelerator enable to:

• Deploy edge modules to IoT edge devices.
• Trigger actions such as email notifications in response to device alert.
• Manage device updates using Automatic Device Management.
• Visualize device data using Azure Time Series Insights

Learn more on our blog.

IoT solution accelerators | Update to Device Simulation

Several major updates have been made to the Azure IoT Device Simulation solution accelerator. Now, developers are enabled to create advanced device simulations to test their IoT solutions in development—before making costly and time-consuming hardware investments—saving money and encouraging innovation. This solution accelerator makes it possible to script complex device behavior, include multiple device models in a single simulation, and let simulations run for as long as necessary to emulate real-world scenarios.

Learn more about these updates by reading our blog post.

Power BI Report Server | SQL Server Reporting Services reports now supported

In July 2018 we first announced our plans to support SQL Server Reporting Services reports in Power BI, and later demonstrated this capability at the Microsoft Business Applications Summit. This functionality is now available in preview in Power BI Premium, allowing you to view and interact with your pixel-perfect paginated reports alongside your existing Power BI interactive reports in the Power BI portal.

See the Power BI blog for more information.

Azure SQL Database Managed Instance | Business critical service tier is now available

Designed for mission-critical business apps with high I/O requirements, the business critical tier supports high availability with the highest level of storage and compute redundancy. Save up to 80 percent off the license-included full price when you apply Azure Hybrid Benefit for SQL Server and reserved capacity pricing.

Learn more about Managed Instance business critical and other Managed Instance updates in our announcement blog.

Deploy highly available and disaster recovery configured applications on Azure

Azure is the most resilient cloud platform with a comprehensive set of built-in services for high availability, disaster recovery, and backup, enabling you to adopt operational proven practices for your business continuity needs. In addition to the broadest global coverage, Azure offers the most comprehensive resiliency strategy in the industry from mitigating rack level failures with availability sets to protecting against large-scale events with failover to separate regions with Azure Site Recovery. Within a region, Availability Zones increases fault tolerance with physically separated locations, each with independent power, network, and cooling. Azure is the first public cloud to offer native disaster recovery solution for applications running on Azure virtual machines using Azure Site Recovery.

Read the full story.

Azure Service Fabric | Mesh updates

The serverless Azure Service Fabric Mesh refresh is now available with improvements such as auto-scale and network and gateway resources, in addition to storage improvements and fixes. Azure Service Fabric Mesh is a fully managed service that enables developers to build and deploy mission critical applications without managing any infrastructure. Use Service Fabric Mesh to build and run secure, distributed microservices applications that scale on demand. Learn how to use Service Fabric Mesh with our quickstarts and tutorials.

To learn more, read the Service Fabric Mesh overview and the frequently asked questions.

Service Fabric | Updates

A new Azure Service Fabric runtime update with the corresponding SDK and tooling updates is now available with many enhancements, including support for Windows Server 1803, low-latency storage improvements, and more.

To learn more, read the blog.

Service Fabric | Service Fabric release for Bosh

Service Fabric Ubuntu clusters can now be provisioned on-premises as well as on public clouds using Bosh. To learn more, read the full blog post and visit the tutorial to get started.

Azure Cosmos DB | CORS support is now available

Now generally available, Azure Cosmos DB offers service level, global cross-origin resource sharing (CORS) support that enables web browser-based applications to directly connect to Azure Cosmos DB. CORS is ahyper-text transfer protocol (HTTP) feature that enables web applications running on one domain to request resources from another domain. This new support offers functionality and security for cross-origin requests to developers using Azure Cosmos DB via the JavaScript SDK.

Azure Cosmos DB | .NET SDK update is in preview

The Azure Cosmos DB .NET SDK helps developers build Azure Cosmos DB applications with the SQL API and perform various operations more easily. The preview of the new version is now available for download or to provide feedback on GitHub. The SDK targets .NET Standard 2.0 and has many new features including a new, intuitive object model, support for streams, and other performance improvements.

Learn more.

Azure Cosmos DB | Shared throughput reduced minimum is now available

Throughput provisioned at the database level now starts at 400 RU/s per database and can be shared across any or all containers within a database. Throughput can be scaled in increments of 100 RU/s. Provisioning throughput at the database level can result in savings for databases with multiple containers, versus provisioning throughput to each container individually. Additionally, Azure Cosmos DB users can now use database provisioning as part of their 12-month trial, with their complimentary Azure account.

Learn more.

In attending this technical webinar, available to you as a Partner Network member at no cost, you will learn more about Office 365 applications included with your customer deployments and discover why customers should use Flow, Stream, Forms and other Office 365 applications.

Introduction to Microsoft 365 App Launcher - The Office 365 app launcher is the user interface that opens when you click the App Launcher (waffle) icon in the upper left corner of the Office 365 portal. The App Launcher has been redesigned to make opening and switching between your apps easier than ever by highlighting your most used Office 365 apps and providing quick access to your recent online Office documents – from anywhere in Office 365. During this webinar, you’ll receive an overview of the apps available within Office 365, understand which apps are included with specific plans, and find out where you can get more information about an app that might interest you.

Explore the full suite of technical webinars and consultations available for the Teamwork technical journey at aka.ms/TeamworkTechJourney.

Listed below are the non-security updates we released on the Download Center and Microsoft Update today. See the linked KB articles for more information.

Office 2010

Update for Microsoft Office 2010 (KB4227172)
Update for Microsoft Office 2010 (KB4461579)

Office 2013

Update for Microsoft InfoPath 2013 (KB4022181)

Office 2016

Update for Skype for Business 2016 (KB4461545)
Update for Microsoft Project 2016 (KB4461540)

Want to know how to make your customer engagements easier and more profitable? Read on for more information about US partner investments!

About partner investments

US partner investments consist of two parts: offers and incentives.

Offers are designed around specific pre-sales or post-sales engagements with customers, and are managed through the Partner Investment Engine (PIE) program. PIE’s objective is to accelerate digital transformation opportunities around Apps & Infrastructure, Data & AI, Modern Workplace, and Business Applications.

For more information on PIE, read our post on how to get started with the program.

Incentives are paid out to partners as a percentage of a sale (transactional incentives) or your customers’ consumption (utilization incentives).

For more information on incentives, visit the US partner incentives website (must have an MPN account).

Together, offers and incentives make it easier for you to demonstrate the value of Microsoft products to customers, and they make your engagements more cost-effective for your business.

Upcoming call topics

The partner investments team hosts a call series every Wednesday that allows you to: learn about updates and enhancements to partner investment programs, get previews of new programs coming to market, and ask support questions directly to the investments team.

Each week, we feature a guest speaker, who will walk you through a deep-dive on an investment or process. In December, we have three calls scheduled.

• December 5: MPN & cloud competencies with Sarah Broadbent, Audience Marketing Manager

• December 12: Modern Workplace PIE programs with Diaundra Jones, Product Marketing Manager

• December 19: Partner incentives with Mike Stinogel, Director, Partner Marketing

During each call, we also offer time for Q&A with the audience so you can learn more about the aspects of each presentation that are most relevant for you.

Sign up for the calls

Joining a call is easy! Simply register for upcoming calls on our community call listing page. After each call, we’ll post the presentation deck to our partner Yammer site, and you can watch the recorded call on demand on the listing page.

Resources

After you register for the upcoming call, check out 4 easy ways to stay connected with US partner offers and incentives:

• Visit the Yammer page for information, updates, and announcements throughout the year
• Check out program resources on the PIE portal or the partner incentives website
• Get tier 1 support by contacting the help alias for offers or incentives
• Connect with the team on our weekly calls by registering for our call series

Microsoft 365 は、Office 365、Windows 10、Enterprise Mobility + Security を組み合わせたインテリジェントなソリューションです。 安全に仕事できる環境を作り、働く人すべての力となります。

Office ブログはMicrosoft 365 ブログに進化しました。英語版の Microsoft 365 ブログ (英語)、一部が翻訳された日本語版 Microsoft 365 ブログとともに、元の Office Blogs  もしばらく運用されていきます。製品の更新情報は今後、主に Microsoft 365 ブログに投稿されます。ぜひブックマークして定期的にご参照ください！

≪最近の更新≫

2018/11/29: Microsoft 365 の 11 月の最新情報まとめ – ワークフローとコンテンツの調整を支援するツール  (英語)

• ワークフローにとどまる
  • Word の新しい AI 機能を使った To-Do の追跡と同僚との共同作業: 記述した文章からTo-Do 項目を自動判別、メンションした関係者にディープリンク付きの通知を送信。
  • iOS/Android の Microsoft Teams アプリの 2018 年 11 月の新機能でより多くの仕事をこなす: 会議設定や同僚の組織内検索、業務時間外の考慮など。その他、IT 管理者向けの Microsoft Teams の新機能 (サードパーティツールとの統合、ダイナミックグループメンバーシップによるチーム、組織全体のチーム、Exchange アドレス帳ポリシーに準じた限定範囲に制限したディレクトリ検索、など)も。
  • Outlook on the web の電子メールフローを崩さずにタスクを管理する: 2018 年 12 月より電子メールのタスクペインへのドラッグ＆ドロップで新しいタスクを作成できるようになります。
  • Outlook on the web へのサインイン方法の増加: 2018 年 12 月より www.outlook.com から法人向け Outlook on the web へもサインイン可能に。
• より豊富で魅力のあるコンテンツを作る
  • PowerPoint のエディターで文章を改善する: 自然言語処理と機械学習によるインテリジェントな文章校正が Office 365 で 2018 年 12 月より実装。
  • PowerPoint のインタラクティブフォーム、クイズ機能で観客を魅了する: Microsoft Forms が PowerPoint for Office 365 と統合され、プレゼンターは PowerPoint 内でリアルタイムにフィードバックを得ることができるようになりました。
• その他
  • 新しいアイコンが今後数か月以内に実装されます。
  • Microsoft Stream におけるAI 機能: 顔検出、音声認識、字幕生成、トランスクリプト検索、タイムコードの利用。
  • ユーザー名/パスワードを使わず Windows Hello/FIDO2 デバイスを使ったマイクロソフトアカウントへのサインイン。
  • Office Customization Tool が管理者向けに利用可能になりました。

Microsoft 365 は、Office 365 のアプリとサービスを含み、Enterprise Mobility + Security および Windows 10 Pro を備えた総合的かつインテリジェントなソリューションです。Microsoft 365 の各製品については、Office 365 | Windows 10 | Enterprise Mobility + Security を参照してください。Office 365 サブスクリプションをお持ちの方を対象とした今月の新機能の詳細については、Windows デスクトップ版 Office の新機能 | Office for Mac の新機能 | Office Mobile for Windows の新機能 | Office for iPhone および Office for iPad の新機能 | Office for Android の新機能を参照してください。月次チャネルと半期チャネルの法人契約の皆様は、対象指定リリース (クライアント、サービス) を通じて完全にサポートされたビルドを早期に利用できます。今回ご紹介した機能の入手時期の詳細については、「Office の最新機能を入手できる時期」を参照してください。

最近は、月末にその月の主な新機能のまとめが出ていますので、簡単に概要を把握するのに便利です。

また、英語になりますが、更新に関するビデオとドキュメントが出ていますので、こちらもご覧ください。(米国時間毎月8日頃にアップデートされます)

過去のまとめを見るには、Office Blogs タグを参照してください。

製品についての最新情報まとめを見るには最新アップデートタグを参照してください。

After applying September 2018 .NET 4.6 or later updates, SharePoint crawl can fail and you will see ULS log entries with event ID fa45 or 88bl similar to the following:

mssdmn.exe (0x2730) 0x00D8 SharePoint Foundation   Database     fa45   High      System.TypeInitializationException: The type initializer for 'System.Data.SqlClient.SqlConnection' threw an exception. ...

To resolve this issue you need to ensure that the SqlColumnEncryptionEnclaveProviders configuration section is defined in the config file of the affected application (for SharePoint crawl it would be the mssdmn.exe.config file) or the machine.config to address the issue for all applications on the affected machine.

The mssdmn.exe.config would look like this after the update:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
   <configuration>
       <configSections>
         <section name="SqlColumnEncryptionEnclaveProviders" 
             type="System.Data.SqlClient.SqlColumnEncryptionEnclaveProviderConfigurationSection, System.Data, Version=4.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=b77a5c561934e089" /> 
   </configSections>
</configuration>

You canf

You can find the mssdmn.exe.config in the following locations:

• for SharePoint 2013: C:Program FilesMicrosoft Office Servers15.0binmssdmn.exe.config
• for SharePoint Server 2016 and 2019: C:Program FilesMicrosoft Office Servers16.0binmssdmn.exe.config

More details of the issue and a script to update the machine.config file can be found in the following article:

• After installing .NET security patches to address CVE-2018-8421, SharePoint crawler may fail

By Edward Jones, Firebrand Training

At Ignite 2018, Microsoft announced the launch of all new Azure role-based certifications.

These new credentials mark the next stage in Microsoft Learning’s evolution of certification. With a core focus of building skills and knowledge aligned to specific job roles, earning a Microsoft certification has never been more powerful.

In this post, we will look at how the next generation of Microsoft role-based certifications are being built and a look at new role-based certifications launched and expected in early 2019.

Building the next generation of Microsoft certifications

Engaging with the tech community, Microsoft recognised a shift in expectations for what certification courses covered. Demand was growing for certifications that moved beyond teaching you how to use the technology to developing the skills you need to fulfil a specific job role.

This spark ignited the development of role-based certifications. Microsoft began conducting in-depth job task analysis to fully understand the range of skills and knowledge required to be successful in a specific job role. Once the list of skills and knowledge were decided, Microsoft narrowed down what would be measured in the certification process.

The new role-based certifications are split into three levels of designation:

• Fundamentals - requiring you to pass one exam
• Associate - requiring you to pass two Associate-level exams
• Expert - depending on the credential requiring you to pass two Expert-level exams with no Associate certification prerequisite; or, achieving an Associate-level certification and then passing an Expert-level exam

Azure role-based certifications

Forming the first wave of role-based certifications, Microsoft focused on three core job roles - Cloud Administrator, Cloud Developer and Cloud Solutions Architect.

The outcome, three new Microsoft Azure certifications which are significant on the hugely popular Azure exams 70-532, 70-533 and 70535 – which are being replaced.

Microsoft Certified Azure Administrator

The first role-based certification to launch is the Microsoft Certified Azure Administrator Associate, aligned to the role of a Cloud Administrator.

Attempting this cert, you will learn a far broader range and depth of skills required of a Cloud Administrator including - managing cloud services (storage, security, networking, compute cloud capabilities), provisioning and monitoring resource and handling requests for infrastructure, applications and environments.

Azure Administrator Associate replaces exam 70-533: Implementing Microsoft Azure Infrastructure Solutions. In order to achieve the certification you will need to pass the following exams:

• Exam AZ-100: Microsoft Azure Infrastructure and Deployment
• Exam AZ-101: Microsoft Azure Integration and Security

If you have passed exam 70-533, you can build on your skills to become an Azure Administrator by passing a transition exam AZ-102: Microsoft Azure Administrator Certification Transition.

Microsoft Certified Azure Developer

Launching alongside Azure Administrator at the Associate level is the Microsoft Certified Azure Developer Associate. It aligns to the role of a Cloud Developer.

Taking this certification, you will learn to design and build cloud applications and services, work with cloud DBAs, admins and solutions architects to implement the solutions on the Azure platform. Learning the full capabilities of a Cloud Developer.

Azure Developer Associate replaces exam 70-532:  Developing Microsoft Azure Solutions. In order to achieve the certification you will need to pass the following exams:

• AZ-200: Microsoft Azure Developer Core Solutions
• AZ-201: Microsoft Azure Developer Advanced Solutions

If you have achieved exam 70-532, you can achieve the Azure Developer credential by passing transition exam AZ-202: Microsoft Azure Developer Certification Transition.

Microsoft Certified Azure Solutions Architect

The first role-based certification to launch at the expert level is the Microsoft Certified Azure Solutions Architect Expert, aligned to the role of a Cloud Solutions Architect.

Working towards this Expert level credential, you will learn advanced Azure skills, learning to translate business requirements into secure, scalable and reliable solutions - with skills across compute, network, storage and security.

Although this credential builds on the knowledge of the Azure Administrator and Azure Developer Associate level certifications, they are not required as a prerequisite.

Azure Solutions Architect Expert replaces exam 70-535: Architecting Microsoft Azure Solutions. In order to achieve the certification you will need to pass the following exams:

• AZ-300: Microsoft Azure Architect Technologies
• AZ-301: Microsoft Azure Architect Design

If you have passed exam 70-535, you can build on your skills to earn Azure Solutions Architect by passing transition exam AZ-302: Microsoft Azure Solutions Architect Certification Transition.

A look towards 2019 launches

Alongside the Azure role-based certifications, expect to see a huge range of certifications landing early in 2019. These will be aligned job roles across Microsoft’s four stacks – Applications & Infrastructure, Data & AI, Modern Workplace and Business Apps.

Although it is yet to be confirmed, we will almost certainly see these role-based certifications include training aligned to very latest Microsoft technologies such as SharePoint 2019, SQL Server 2019, Microsoft 365, Dynamics 365 and Windows Sever 2019.

At the start of November 2018, we have already seen two new role-based exams and MOCs appearing for Azure Dev-Ops Engineer Expert and Microsoft 365 Certified Enterprise Administrator Expert.

Expect regular updates…

Getting a head start on Azure role-based certs

Already, you will begin to see training pathways to the latest certifications emerge. As an accelerated training provider and Microsoft Learning Partner, Firebrand is excited to offer the fastest routes to the following new Azure role-based certs:

• Microsoft Certified Azure Administrator Associate
• Microsoft Certified Azure Developer Associate
• Microsoft Certified Azure Solutions Expert

6 декабря, уже завтра, у Microsoft и Технополис стартует бесплатный вебинар для ИТ-специалистов по Windows Server 2019.

Из курса вы узнаете:
1. Зачем нужен Windows Server 2019.
2. Редакции Windows Server 2019, их отличия, лицензирование.
3. Что нового в платформе Windows Server 2019.

Por: Scott Guthrie, vicepresidente ejecutivo del grupo de nube y empresa en Microsoft

Mientras compartimos nuestras recientes innovaciones para cada desarrollador en Connect(); 2018, viene a mi mente que ahora, más que nunca, nos movemos hacia un mundo de cómputo ubicuo donde la tecnología es responsable de transformar la experiencia de cada consumidor y negocio. Para los desarrolladores, la oportunidad de utilizar tecnologías como IA, IoT, cómputo sin servidor, contenedores y más, nunca había sido tan grande. Estoy emocionado de compartir algunas de las más recientes cosas en las que trabajamos en Microsoft para ayudar a los desarrolladores a conseguir más cuando construyen hoy, las aplicaciones del mañana.

Herramientas para cada desarrollador

Como empresa construida por desarrolladores y para desarrolladores, entendemos las oportunidades y retos que los desarrolladores enfrentan a diario. Hoy, continuamos con la entrega de herramientas para desarrollador y servicios Azure que les ayudan a ser más innovadores y productivos que nunca.

Quiero anunciar la disponibilidad general del servicio Azure Machine Learning, el cual permite a desarrolladores y científicos de datos construir, entrenar e implementar de manera eficiente modelos de aprendizaje automático. Con Azure Machine Learning, pueden automatizar la selección y afinación del modelo, incrementar la productividad con DevOps para aprendizaje automático, e implementar modelos con un solo clic. Con su SDK Python generalizable para diferentes herramientas, el servicio de Azure Machine Learning puede ser utilizado en cualquier ambiente Python con sus marcos de trabajo favoritos de código abierto.

Más de 12 millones de desarrolladores en el mundo utilizan Visual Studio para construir nuevas aplicaciones y mejorar las existentes. Hoy, Visual Studio 2019 Preview y Visual Studio 2019 for Mac Preview están disponibles para descarga. Con numerosas mejoras a capacidades como IntelliCode para IntelliSense asistido por IA, capacidades expandidas de refactorización y depuración más inteligente, los desarrolladores pueden pasar más tiempo enfocados en escribir código. Ahora, los desarrolladores pueden colaborar en tiempo real con Live Share y las nuevas capacidades de solicitud de extracción en GitHub. Y los desarrolladores que utilicen Azure encontrarán un mejor soporte, ya sea que se encuentren en la modernización de contenedores o en la construcción de soluciones nativas de nube con tecnología sin servidores.

.NET Core 3 Preview ahora está disponible, para llevar Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF) y marcos de trabajo de aplicación de Windows Forms a .NET Core. Esto permite una implementación más flexible con EXE auto contenidos y lado a lado, mejor desempeño y la capacidad de utilizar controles de Universal Windows Platform (UWP) en Windows Forms y aplicaciones WPF a través de islas XAML. Del lado del servidor, vean UI componibles con ASP.NET Core a través de Razor Components, los cuales brindan desarrollo web apilado por completo con .NET por primera vez.

Para desarrolladores que buscan construir aplicaciones nativas en la nube e impulsadas por la nube, Azure Cosmos DB ofrece una base de datos distribuida a nivel global y gestionada por completo, la cual soporta cargas de trabajo NoSQL y garantiza una baja latencia de menos de 10 milisegundos y alta disponibilidad. Ahora, anunciamos la disponibilidad general de Azure Cosmos DB Shared Throughput Offer con una disminución en la entrada mínima de 400 unidades de solicitud o $24 dólares al mes, un punto de entrada 25 veces menor, que hace a Azure Cosmos DB más accesible para desarrolladores que tienen bases de datos con múltiples ‘contenedores Azure Cosmos DB’.

Microsoft <3 el código abierto

Al centro de la gran innovación de los desarrolladores se encuentra la comunidad y es por eso que el código abierto es tan importante. Estamos comprometidos con impulsar a los desarrolladores en cada etapa del ciclo de vida del desarrollo, desde la ideación a la colaboración a la implementación. Los anuncios que hemos hecho no solo son acerca de abrir más de nuestros productos para la colaboración y contribución de la comunidad, sino de cómo invertimos de manera activa en colaborar con iniciativas de otros.

Las aplicaciones modernas de contenedor por lo general incluyen una variedad de componentes como contenedores, bases de datos y máquinas virtuales, y por lo tanto necesitan una manera de empacar y mantener las aplicaciones en diferentes ambientes. Hoy, me emociona presentar Cloud Native Application Bundles (CNAB), una nueva especificación de formato de empaque de código abierto en asociación con Docker y apoyada por HashiCorp, Bitnami y más. Con CNAB, ustedes pueden gestionar aplicaciones distribuidas a través de un solo archivo instalable, para provisionar de manera confiable recursos de aplicación en diferentes ambientes y gestionar de manera sencilla el ciclo de vida de la aplicación sin tener que usar múltiples conjuntos de herramientas.

Hace un año, presentamos Virtual Kubelet (VK)m para brindar una arquitectura conectable para extender la API Kubernetes para implementar y gestionar contenedores en ambientes de cómputo sin servidor y de entorno. Desde entonces, algunos proveedores de VK han sido agregados, para permitir integraciones con múltiples servicios como Azure Container Instances, AWS Fargate, Alibaba ECI y Azure IoT Edge. Hoy, donamos el proyecto Virtual Kubelet a Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF). Al trabajar dentro de CNCF, podemos impulsar una mayor participación e innovaciones en la comunidad para integrar una orquestación de Kubernetes con más ambientes.

También quiero compartir que cumplimos las principales solicitudes de la comunidad .NET al abrir Windows Presentation Foundation (WPF), Windows Forms y WinUI XAML Library (WinUI). Los compromisos iniciales agregan muchos espacios de nombre y API, con más por llegar en los meses siguientes. Esperamos recibir sus contribuciones a estos pactos.

Un acceso más sencillo a la tecnología permite libertad de elección para que los desarrolladores elijan la mejor solución para el proyecto que tienen enfrente. Hoy, anunciamos que el servicio Azure Database para MariaDB ahora está disponible a nivel general. Esta edición del servicio gestionado por completo y listo para la empresa para MariaDB brinda una alta disponibilidad y escala elástica integradas, así como un precio flexible.

Cómputo sin servidor para todos

Estamos emocionados de llevar los beneficios de cómputo sin servidor a cada patrón de aplicación. Ya sea que se encuentren en la construcción de funciones dirigidas por eventos, corran cargas de trabajo de contenedor orquestadas por Kubernetes o sólo gestionen API implementadas en cualquier plataforma, pueden hacer todo esto sin tener que preocuparse de la infraestructura subyacente.

Impulsada por la tecnología de código abierto de Virtual Kubelet, la versión previa de nodo público virtual de Azure Kubernetes Service (AKS) habilita Kubernetes sin servidor. Con esta nueva característica, pueden brindar de manera elástica capacidad adicional de cómputo en segundos. Con sólo unos clics en el portal Azure, pueden activar la capacidad de nodo virtual y obtener la flexibilidad y portabilidad de una experiencia enfocada en contenedores en su ambiente AKS sin tener que preocuparse de gestionar los recursos adicionales de cómputo.

Azure Functions les permite construir aplicaciones dirigidas por evento sin servidor en el lenguaje de su elección, incluidos .NET, JavaScript y Java. Hoy, extendemos esto aún más con soporte para Python en Azure Functions. Construyan funciones basadas en Linux a través de Python ya sea como código o como contenedor Docker, a la vez que disfrutan una experiencia de desarrollo de extremo a extremo, construir, depurar/probar, publicar, a través de herramientas locales como CLI y Visual Studio. El soporte para Python trae el enfoque sin servidor a escenarios de aprendizaje automático y de automatización.

Estas son solo algunas nuevas herramientas que hemos anunciado. Los invito a revisar todas las actualizaciones y a unirse a las sesiones interactivas de codificación en vivo en Connect(); 2018. Vean bajo demanda y exploren las muestras de código mostradas durante el evento y compartan sus pensamientos en redes sociales (#MSFTConnect). Estamos ansiosos por ver lo que construirán a continuación.

Check out the attached list of technical webinars for next week, to help you build your technical depth. Through these live, instructor-led webinars, you will receive interactive guidance with real-time Q&A capabilities - all at no cost to Microsoft Partner Network members!

Technical-Webinars_12-10-thru-12-14

To find additional dates and times for technical webinars above, as well as the full suite of webinars and consultations available, visit aka.ms/TechnicalJourney.

John Wiese, Partner Technology Strategist

Alex Starykh, Could Solution Architect

Microsoft’s US One Commercial Partner (OCP) team is pleased to announce the Microsoft Developer Community. This new community is designed to be a place for developers to find developer-specific information and resources.

This community is open to all US-based developers, and can be found within the US Partner Community Yammer group. We will host regular calls and publish blog posts to present developer-related content, provide event announcements, and interact with the community.

When you join, you can get connected with other developers, and get access to resources and networking opportunities specific to your field and areas of expertise. Find answers to your questions and solutions for your problems within the Microsoft Developer Community.

How to join the Microsoft Developer Community

1. Register to join the US Partner community on Yammer here. Note that approval can take 2-3 days.
2. Search for the Microsoft Developer Community and join the group

Community call

We hope you can join us for our initial community call on December 14 at 11 am PT where we’ll recap the announcements from Microsoft Connect(); 2018 and discuss other recent happenings in the developer space. Sign up to attend the call.

We look forward to connecting with you!

We’re pleased to announce the final build of Exchange Server 2019 is now available and can be downloaded from the Volume Licensing Service Center.

Exchange Server 2019 is designed to deliver security, performance and improved administration and management capabilities; attributes our largest on-premises customers expect from Exchange.

Our official product documentation is now live, and we’ll be publishing the updated Preferred Architecture documentation soon.

Zveme vás na technické školení o databázích v Azure. Jsou určeny pro všechny vývojáře, databázové specialisty a architekty, kteří uvažují o využití výhod cloudového prostředí.
Akce byla minulý týden pořádaná v Praze a nyní bude v  Bratislavě, 7.12.2018  jako databázové pokračování DevDays 2018. Na rozdíl od ihned vybukované Prahy je v Bratislavě ještě registrace otevřena.

Co získáte a co se dozvíte, o čem to bude

Pochopíte problematiku návrhu a provozu databázových aplikací v Azure, technologických možností i obchodních modelů databází jako služba. Naučíte se převádět vaše tradiční databázové MS SQL Server aplikace do Azure. Zjistíte, že mimo SQL Azure existuje mnoho dalších databázových služeb, které jsou optimalizované a vhodné pro různé cloudové scénáře.

Program

I. Přehled databázových služeb v Azure a výběr vhodných služeb pro různé architektury aplikací.
Azure SQL Database, Azure Cosmos DB, Azure Database for MySQL, Azure Database for PostgreSQL, SQL Server on Virtual Machines, Azure Database for MariaDB, SQL Data Warehouse, Redis Cache, Table Storage.

II. Azure SQL Database od A až do Z:

• Varianty provozu MS SQL Server databází v Azure a rozdíly oproti tradičnímu MS SQL Server
• Výkonnostní úrovně, DTU vs. vCore, Managed Instance, SQL Database Elastics Pools
• Jak převést on-prem databázi do Azure SQL Database, Azure Database Migration Service
• Optimalizace databázového SQL řešení v Azure a jeho Monitoring, Azure SQL Analytics
• High-availability, Database Backup, SQL Advanced Threat Protection, SQL Auditing

III. CosmosDB SQL API a PowerBi Embedded:
CosmosDB jako globálně škálovatelná, semirelační databáze s SQL jazykem a garantovanou odezvou
Embedded verze PowerBI jako interaktivní reporting nejen nad Azure SQL Database, dodávaná jako služba bez nutnosti licencování uživatelů

Datum, Místo, Registrace

• 7.12.2018, 9-16 hod., Bratislava, Microsoft Slovakia s.r.o.
  REGISTRACE A PODROBNOSTI BRATISLAVA

Vstup zdarma, občerstvení zajištěno. Počet míst omezen, registrace předem nutná.

Těšíme se na setkání,
Jiří Burian AppDev/ISV Solutions Specialist

Join our monthly Business Applications Community call on December 11 to learn more about the Microsoft Industry Accelerators and Power BI Dataflows.

Dynamics 365 announced the Microsoft Power Platform, a connected app platform that unifies access to your data to enable ISVs, SIs, Partners, and Customers to build intelligent, data-driven, task-focused business and analytic applications. Microsoft is focused on enabling a data culture in which the Microsoft Power Platform acts as the glue across Microsoft Dynamics 365 (CE, F&O, Talent), Office 365 (SharePoint, Teams), Power BI, Power Apps, Microsoft Flow, Azure, and other third-party, on-premises and cloud-based solutions.

With the Power Platform providing a unified approach to building data driven solutions, the team is taking it one step further by introducing Industry Solution Accelerators. The accelerators are industry-focused foundational components that enable ISVs and other solution providers with a way to build solutions based on industry standards, supported and driven by Microsoft.

Guest presenters Sonal Bordia and Tamas Zsolt Polner will provide an overview of the Microsoft Industry Accelerators and the Common Data Model. They’ll explain how the Power BI dataflows help business analysts ingest, transform, integrate, and enrich big data using the Power Query experience already familiar to Power BI Desktop and Excel users.

With dataflows, we’re fueling collaboration between Power BI users, data engineers and data scientists by allowing them to seamlessly operate on data stored in Azure Data Lake Storage. Come to learn how to easily prep your data, leverage Microsoft’s standardized schema the Common Data Model, improve time-to-value, eliminate data silos, and create one source of truth for your organizational insights with a demo of Power BI Dataflows.

These capabilities combine to create a unique opportunity for partners to build on top of the platform and accelerators to create unique customer solutions. Here is a view of these opportunities:

Check out these blog posts to take a deeper dive into the topic of Industry Accelerators:

• Dynamics 365 Brings Industry focus through Microsoft Power Platform and Industry Solution Accelerators
• Dynamics 365 Healthcare Accelerator
• Dynamics 365 Nonprofit Accelerator
• Dynamics 365 Higher Education Accelerator

Sign up for the December 11 community call

Ready to learn more? Join us by registering for our community call about Microsoft Industry Accelerators and Power BI Dataflows on December 11 at 9 am PT.

Additional Business Applications Technical Community Resources

• Sign up for upcoming community calls
• Join the Dynamics 365 Partners Yammer group
• Read the blog series
• Watch community calls on-demand

What is TechNet Guru Competition?

Each month the TechNet Wiki council organizes a contest of the best articles posted that month. This is your chance to be announced as MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY GURU OF THE MONTH!

One winner in each category will be selected each month for glory and adoration by the MSDN/TechNet Ninjas and community as a whole. Winners will be announced in dedicated blog post that will be published in Microsoft Wiki Ninjas blog, a tweet from the Wiki Ninjas
Twitter account, links will be published at Microsoft TNWiki group on Facebook, and other acknowledgement from the community will follow.

Some of our biggest community voices and many MVPs have passed through these halls on their way to fame and fortune.

If you have already made a contribution in the forums or gallery or you published a nice blog, then you can simply convert it into a shared wiki article, reference the original post, and register the article for the TechNet Guru Competition. The articles must be written in December 2018 and must be in English. However, the original blog or forum content can be from before December 2018.

Come and see who is making waves in all your favorite technologies. Maybe it will be you!

Who can join the Competition?

Anyone who has basic knowledge and the desire to share the knowledge is welcome. Articles can appeal to beginners or discusse advanced topics. All you have to do is to add your article to TechNet Wiki from your own specialty category.

How can you win?

1. Please copy/Write over your Microsoft technical solutions and revelations to TechNetWiki.
2. Add a link to your new article on THIS WIKI COMPETITION PAGE (so we know you've contributed)
3. (Optional but recommended) Add a link to your article at the TechNetWiki group on Facebook. The group is very active and people love to help, you can get feedback and even direct improvements in the article before the contest starts.

Do you have any question or want more information?

Feel free to ask any questions below, or Join us at the official MicrosoftTechNet Wiki groups on facebook. Read More about TechNet Guru Awards.

If you win, people will sing your praises online and your name will be raised as Guru of the Month.

PS: Above top banner came from Vimal Kalathil.

2018年12月10日（月） 13:00-13:30

本オンライン セミナーでは、Office 365 ProPlusをはじめとするOffice シリーズを検討中、または既に導入いただいているお客様を対象に最新の機能をご紹介します。マイクロソフトのプロダクト マネージャ自ら、 特におおすすめの機能をデモでわかりやすくご説明いたします。皆様のご登録をお待ちしております。

特に、以下のようなお客様にお勧めします。
■ 企業のIT担当のお客様
■ Office製品の導入済のお客様
■ Office製品の更新もご検討中のお客様

お申込みはこちら

When you do an Autopilot deployment, we recommend configuring the Enrollment Status Page (ESP) to block until those app installations are done – the user won’t be able to get to the desktop until the device is configured so that they can be secure and productive.

But we recognize that some apps are more important than others.  So we’ve added a new feature in Intune that allows you to select which apps should block and which ones shouldn’t.  See the new setting at the bottom of the list of available ESP settings:

Change from “All” to “Selected” and then you can select the list by clicking the “Select apps” button and choosing the ones you want:

which will be displayed on the ESP settings page once you have made your selections and clicked “Select”:

It’s also worth noting that we recently made changes so that Office 365 ProPlus is tracked during the ESP as well.  If you want Office to be tracked, then you might need to increase your ESP timeout values to account for the increased time.  If you don’t want Office to be tracked, make sure it’s not in the blocking list.  See https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/Intune-Customer-Success/Support-Tip-Office-C2R-installation-is-now-tracked-during-ESP/ba-p/295514 for more information.